


A Wonderous Land

by bluereadingdolphin



Category: Original Work
Genre: Action/Adventure, Eventual Romance, Fae & Fairies, Fantasy, I'm Bad At Tagging, Its not really a focus though, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Character of Color, Part of it is in the real world, Sorta kinda, Theres definitely more than one, Wonderland, i guess, s
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:21:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23459287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluereadingdolphin/pseuds/bluereadingdolphin
Summary: There have always been stories about other worlds, magical and strange, and an escape for many. Of course, we all know that’s not real, and we know that we’re stuck in this mundane, boring, sad world. So when Amy and Phoenix fall down a strange hole in the woods when they’re on a school trip and end up in a different place filled with bright colours and magic, they assume they’re dead or dreaming. But not everything is quite as it seems, and this world may be realer, and scarier, than they thought.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 7





	1. Geography Trip

The coach rumbles along the motorway, grey smoke tumbling out of its exhaust pipe. Snatches of loud music, chattering voices and the smell of sweat rise into the clouded sky, floating out of the window.  
“Johnathan get down off that seat! Alicia what are you doing with those headphones that is a safety hazard! BENJAMIN! Leave Harry alone for goodness’ sake this is a bus not a wrestling ring!” A tired-looking teacher stands at the front waving her arms and trying to wrangle the class into their seats. “CAN I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION!” She screams, and the bus finally falls quiet. A snigger comes from one of the boys, and he is immediately fixed with a glare. “Yes, Joe? Is there a problem?”  
“No, Miss Mills. Nothing.” He looks down, smirking at his hands. Miss Mills rolls her eyes at him, but continues anyway.  
“Now, we’re nearly at our fieldwork location. As you all know, this is going to be an important part of your coursework for your Geography GCSE and I want you all to take this seriously. I’ve put you into pairs so that you can actually get things done, and I’m going to read those off now. I will be checking the groups so don’t even try to change the person you’re with.” A groan rises up from the assembled teenagers, and she stands, waiting for silence. “Now that you’re all done, I’m going to read off the pairs. Johnathan, you’re with Felicity. Joe, you’re with Laura. Harry, you’re with Chelsea…” The list goes on for a while, each pair being followed by two people looking at each other with either disgust or glee. “Amy, you’re with...Phoenix”  
“Miss, how is that fair! All the other girls have to go with a boy, why does Amy get to go with her?” Laura shouts from the back, voice filled with mocking anger. Silence descends over the bus, as everyone turns to see how Phoenix will react.  
“Laura, we don’t tolerate that kind of behavior at this school. E...I mean Phoenix has made it clear that...they don’t wish to be perceived as a girl and we should respect that.” The teacher’s voice is cold, but unsure. Phoenix barely raises their hazel eyes from their phone, nodding at the teacher and not deigning to turn around to glare at Laura. Dark hair falls over their eyes, curls sitting on tan skin. Amy, sitting across the aisle from them, turns to give them an awkward smile. Her blonde hair is pulled into a ponytail which falls over her shoulder. Her grey eyes sparkle and her pale skin is covered in freckles. Phoenix ignores her.

The bus rumbles into a parking lot, doors hissing open and a swarm of children spilling out.  
“Everyone, line up here in your pairs! I want you all back here in no more than two hours. You have the worksheets, I want those complete by the time you’re back. And properly complete! Yes, that means you Harry!” Amy and Phoenix stand together, Amy with her hands pushed into her pockets and Phoenix’s eyes fixed on the worksheet held in front of them.  
“So, I assume you’re going to go off with your friends as soon as Miss looks away? It’s fine, I can do the work by myself.” Phoenix’s voice is dry and tired, and they don’t make eye contact as they speak.  
“No... I think I’m going to stick in the groups we’re meant to be in. I’ll, uh, get in trouble if I get caught having moved. And...I actually want to get the work done.” Amy sounds apologetic, as if she doesn’t want to admit this.  
“Huh. Didn’t take you as the type to choose Geography because you actually liked it. Most people pick it because it’s easy.”  
“Did you?”  
“No, I’m actually interested in the development of LEDCs and the way our society responds to natural disasters. Um. Yeah, not just because I wanted to skive off. You avoided the point.”  
“I didn’t really choose it for reasons as good as that. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do and, well, a few of my friends had chosen it so it seemed as good a choice as any.” Phoenix nods, expression slightly disapproving.  
“Well, we might as well get going. This sheet isn’t going to fill itself in.”

“Oh no! My shoes are muddy!” Amy lifts her feet out of a patch of mud, brown strands clinging to the ground.  
“Well you did choose to wear those shoes. The letter said to wear shoes you didn’t mind getting dirty.” Phoenix remarks dryly, looking down at their own boots, which are strong and thick-soled, and definitely more practical than the flimsy things Amy has on her feet.  
“I didn’t think it would be this muddy!”  
“Amy it has been raining for almost two weeks I don’t know what you expected.”  
“Well obviously not this much mud!” She sighs dramatically. “Well, we need to find...evidence of erosion. So.” Amy looks up from the sheet to look at the river bed below them. The banks are lined with mud. Phoenix rolls their eyes and starts walking towards it.  
“Tell me where to go so I can take pictures. My shoes will survive the mud much better.”  
“Phoenix you’re a lifesaver!”  
“Maybe a fieldwork saver. It’s...fine.” Behind Amy, another pair comes in through the trees.  
“Hey Amy, you still hanging around with her?” Phoenix tenses but continues taking pictures of the eroded ground by the river.  
“Um. Yeah. My mum’ll kill me if I don’t get this work done, you know how it is.” She laughs, tone a little hollow.  
“You going to the party on Saturday? Ellie’s parents are out so we’re all going round to hers, it’ll be fun.” The girl leans against a tree, calmly chewing gum while her sheet rests on the clipboard, unfinished.  
“If I can get out, sure, yeah!” Amy’s hands fidget, clicking the pen she’s been using to write.  
“Get out?” The girl doesn’t care, but she’s enjoying watching Phoenix stand torn between interrupting to continue the work or just doing it by themself.  
“Yeah, my parents are pretty annoying about when I have to be home. I can probably convince them I’m staying at a friend’s or something.” She laughs again.  
“Chelsea? Harry? Please come here, I need to talk to you!” The teacher’s voice rings through the trees, and the girl pushes herself off the tree.  
“Well, that’s us then. See you around Amy!” The pair saunters off, leaving Amy clicking her pen. Phoenix finished taking pictures and is looking far too intently at their phone.  
“I’m -”  
“Sorry? It’s fine. I get it, your reputation is too important to stake on correcting someone on my pronouns. It’s fine. Honestly. What else was on the sheet?”  
“No, Phoenix, I’m sorry! I should have said something. Really. You don’t deserve this.” They sigh.  
“Amy. You have no idea how many times a day I get misgendered or deadnamed. Seriously, one more time isn’t going to bother me that much. Can you see any signs of deposits?”  
“But -”  
“Deposits?”  
Amy sighs. “Further upstream. It looks like there’s some on the opposite bank.”  
“Thank you.”

Phoenix sinks down onto a log, sighing deeply.  
“Well, that’s everything.”  
“Tired?” Amy sits down next to them, using her worksheet as a fan.  
“I didn’t get much sleep last night.” They rub their eyes, blinking to clear away drowsiness.  
“Why, what time did you get to sleep at?”  
“Two, three?....four? In the morning?”  
“Phoenix! Why on earth were you up at three in the morning?” Amy sounds almost outraged on their behalf.  
“I was talking to friends - it wasn’t that late for them because they’re in another timezone and I wanted to talk to them so I stayed up late. Okay? . And also I couldn’t sleep.” They pause, sighing. “Sorry, that was kind of aggressive. I’m just...stressed. And the tiredness isn’t helping.”  
“It’s fine. I just end up crying on people when I’m stressed so I guess I owe the universe a few.” She smiles, and Phoenix nods gratefully. “If you’re feeling better, we can probably get going. We’re expected back at the parking lot in - “ she checks her phone “- ten minutes.” Phoenix hops up onto their feet, and holds out a hand for Amy to take. She grabs it and stands up.  
“Shall we get going then?”  
“I mean...we never went all the way up to the spring, it’s that way somewhere. We’ve got ten minutes, we might as well check it out and get some pictures while we’re at it.”  
“I mean I’m down, it’ll probably be good for some part of the coursework.” The two of them set off, sticks and leaves crunching underfoot. 

As they near the spring, the mud thickens and Amy’s shoes are coated in a thin, sticky layer of it. She notices, but doesn’t complain. The spring is on top of a small hill, and they reach the top fairly quickly.  
“Alright, do you want to take the pictures or shall I?” Amy reaches into her pockets for her phone.  
“You can do it, my phone’s almost dead.” Phoenix responds, checking over their worksheet to make sure they’ve done all of the required work.  
“Got it!” Amy puts her phone back, and looks around the forest. “Which way is back?” Phoenix waves an arm at the other side of the hill, and then glances at their watch.  
“Amy, I don’t want to rush you or anything but we have two minutes until we need to be back so we should probably walk extremely quickly or - ideally - run.” Amy starts sprinting down the hill, and Phoenix follows, jacket billowing out behind them. Then the ground opens and they’re falling, falling, falling, falling and Amy is screaming and Phoenix is shaking and suddenly the geography fieldwork doesn’t seem quite as important.

Earth rushes past on either side of them, roots and dead leaves and packed soil racing by. Air pushes at them, Amy’s hair floating above her and Phoenix’s jacket billowing like a cape. Amy’s scream is ripped away from her, and shattered fragments of it swirl in the wind. Phoenix shakes, eyes tightly shut and mouth pressed into a flat line.  
“Amy!”  
They try to call out for her, hands reaching up. Their hand finds her forearm, and they look up at her. “Stretch yourself out!” Phoenix mimes stretching, arms and legs spreading to push against the air. Amy’s eyes widen, and she does the same. Almost imperceptibly they start to slow down. Seconds seem to stretch, then there are two loud crashes and silence.


	2. The Inn

Amy lies asleep in a bed, crisp white sheets covering her body. Her hair, taken out of it’s ponytail fans out on the pillow beneath her. Her face is pale and her freckles stand out in stark contrast. On a chair beside the bed lie a small pile of her clothes, her shoes standing at the end of the bed. They’re back to the vibrant state they started in - the mud has been cleaned off them. The room she’s in smells clean, like linen and flowers. Slowly, her eyes flutter open and she glances around the room. Noticing where she’s ended up, she sits up straight.   
“What’s going on? Where am I? Where’s Phoenix?” She swings her legs over the side of the bed, feet brushing the carpet on the floor. Her eyes fall on her clothes and she jumps - she’s wearing a white, silky shift which she definitely didn’t change into herself. Quickly, she picks up what she was wearing before. Everything is folded and clean, and has the same soft, flowery smell as the room. Shorts, cropped hoodie, socks, cropped t-shirt. She holds them up, looking at them closely as though unsure if they’re real. Deciding they look real enough, she gets dressed. If she’s dead she might as well look nice. 

In the room opposite Amy’s, Phoenix lies in a similar room. They’re awake, but they don’t want to get up. Drowsiness hazes the edges of their vision, and their limbs are loose and floppy. Slowly, they raise their hand, looking at it in a strange kind of wonder. They’re aware that they shouldn’t be here. They shouldn’t even be alive, they know that, and they want to savour this. If they’re going to find out later that they’re not really here and this is all in their head they might as well enjoy this moment, while they feel safe, and warm, and alive.   
A knock sounds at their door. They stir, sighing in resignation.  
“Yeah, I’m awake.” Amy pushes the door open, pushing her face past the door. “Oh. You’re here too. That’s odd.” Phoenix rises onto their elbows, sheets falling off their body.  
“I am. I don’t know...why are we here? What happened?” Amy sounds scared.  
“We somehow fell down a hole in the middle of a forest while on a geography fieldwork trip. I don’t remember what happened after we fell, but somehow we’ve ended up here. Judging by your clothes and shoes, everything’s been cleaned for us too.” They look next to their bed and see a pile of their clothes. “There’s my stuff.”  
“I didn’t get changed. I don’t think? But I was wearing something else when I woke up and it looks like you are too.” In response, Phoenix stands up. They’re wearing a loose shirt and looser trousers, also silky and white.  
“Looks like it.” They pause. “I want to get changed...so if you wouldn’t mind?” Amy nods, smiling awkwardly and exiting the room. Phoenix gets dressed quickly, grimacing in frustration as they button their shirt up wrong. They swing their denim jacket over their shoulders, slide their feet into their boots and wander out of the room to find Amy.

Amy is sitting at a counter, holding a mug of something warm. A tall woman stands behind the counter, blonde hair pulled up in a bun. Her skin is dark, and her eyes are a pale grey colour. She smiles at Phoenix as they enter, pulling another mug out from under the counter.   
“You’re here! Amy said that you were on your way. I’m Nyssa, it’s good to meet you.”  
“Uh. I’m Phoenix.” They sit down next to Amy, leaning on the counter.  
“Nice to meet you, Phoenix!” Nyssa holds out a hand, and they shake it. “Tea? Coffee?” she asks, drumming her fingers on the mug she’s picked up.  
“Tea is fine. Just with milk, please.” They answer, confused, but grateful for the offer of a drink. Nyssa takes a tea bag from the pot next to her, then notices Phoenix’s confused expression.   
“I can imagine this is all quite confusing. Don’t worry, once Amilios and the others get back we’ll let you know what’s going on here.” She says, handing them a steaming mug of tea.   
“I don’t know what’s happening either.” Amy leans over to whisper. “But she gave me tea and they could have hurt us while we were asleep if they really wanted to do anything bad, so I think we’ll be okay.” Nyssa can hear every word she’s saying, but smiles calmly.  
“We don’t want to hurt you, honestly. You’ll be safe here, I promise. Although I do know that my word doesn’t mean anything to you - you met me about five minutes ago.”  
“Well. I’ll take your word for it, for now at least.” Phoenix answers, shrugging.

A short while passes in awkward silence, during which Amy drains her tea quickly and Phoenix nurses theirs until it’s barely lukewarm. Finally, the door swings open and a small group of people walk inside. The leader of the group is a middling height, with short brown hair, blue eyes and freckles. They’re wearing a long, pale pink cape with a white lining, which billows dramatically behind them as they enter. They walk up to the bar, and the three people behind them disappear into a different door, carrying bags of what appears to be shopping.   
“Amilios! They’ve woken up, meet the new people.” Nyssa waves at them, stopping her cleaning of the countertop (which is already perfectly clean).  
“Nice to meet you two! I’m Amilios! My pronouns are they or she, I don’t mind either way.” Amilios does a two fingered salute and winks.   
“Phoenix. They and them.” Phoenix smiles at them, thankful that they didn’t have to go through the awkward conversation of explaining their pronouns to someone they’ve just met.   
“Amy...she and her?” Amy looks at Phoenix in some confusion at the addition of stating their pronouns, but they just shrug at her.   
“So, it’s time to give you two the rundown on what’s going on, yeah? You’re already sat down, so that’s a start. This can get to be quite a lot.” They pull themselves up to sit on the counter next to Phoenix, ignoring Nyssa’s disapproving look. “Nyssa, do you want to do the honours?”  
“Fine, I’ll start.”

“To begin with, you find yourself in the Kaerlighed Inn. Welcome! This is the place new people start their time in, at least for this city.”  
“Kaerlighed?” Amy asks, frowning.  
“It’s Danish for…” Amilios starts  
“Love, I know.” She cuts off Amilios, who looks mildly surprised that she knows this. She smiles. “My mum’s side of the family is Danish. I learned like...ten words of the language.”  
“I feel more interested in the question of which city we’re in, and what you mean by our time.” Phoenix interjects, and Nyssa nods.  
“Of course. So, the city you find yourself in is called Ethrend. More broadly, you’re in Isilme. It’s like a world...adjacent to earth. Amilios, what’s the way you always describe it?”  
“The worlds cross over. In a way - think of it like two bits of string that were dropped on each other and touch in some random places. There’s Earth, and then Isilme, and they sometimes come into contact. Assumedly, you found one of the contact points and accidentally fell through. It’ll have closed behind you, unfortunately. We can’t predict where, when, and for how long the gates will open, so it’s almost impossible to use them to get back. So, I’m sorry to say that you’re stuck in here for...I won’t say forever but, for the foreseeable future. We’re still trying to find a way out, but...it’s not exactly easy.”  
“Has anyone ever made it back? How come people don’t just...fall back, like they fall in?” Phoenix reaches into their pocket and pulls out a notebook, tapping their pen on the cover. Amilios notices, and grins.   
“Oh, you’re going to like Eliana. Take notes if you want to, it’s no skin off my nose. Nyssa, do you want to take those questions?”  
“Sure. As far as we know, there’s a very small contingent of people who have made it back. A lot of stories were somehow based off here, but I’m not really well versed in folklore and literature. And some people do fall back - I believe some of the initial inhabitants of this world have fallen into our world, too. But there’s less people on Isilme, meaning it follows that less people come through.” Nyssa finishes, and Phoenix continues to scribble. Amy holds up a hand, as though she’s in a lesson and wants to ask a question.  
“Goodness, Amy, please don’t do that. It makes me feel ancient.” Amilios remarks. “But go ahead, shoot.”  
“Initial inhabitants?” Her voice is filled with panic. “Are they friendly? Are we in danger? Could something bad happen to us?”  
“Hey, Amy? It’s going to be fine. The Morquiende are friendly - they outnumber us a great deal and if they wanted us gone, we would be. I can’t promise that this world is safe, but as long as you’re in this city or here with us you’ll be safe.” Nyssa’s voice is calm and level; Amy’s breathing slows and she calms down a little.   
“Morquiende?” Phoenix asks, eyes sparkling with interest.  
“That’s one you’ll wanna ask Eliana about, she knows way more than the rest of us.” Amilios shrugs. “Basically they’re like our idea of fairies, but think bigger and more elf-like rather than the sprite kind of idea. You’ll meet some of them soon enough.” Phoenix shakes their head in amazement, as Amy continues to tremble a little. It looks like there’s going to be a lot for the two of them to learn in this odd world they’ve found themselves in.


	3. Into the City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's late and I haven't edited or checked this yet so apologies in advance

It’s been two days. Amy and Phoenix are slowly adjusting to the fact that they’ve found themselves somewhere entirely different, although Phoenix keeps reflexively checking their phone - which lost charge a few hours into the first day - and Amy shrinks in on herself slightly if people try to talk to her. They’ve been dealing with the change in different ways - Phoenix has grilled the owners of the inn for every single piece of information about Isilme they can give them, and is in the process of writing up all of this information in an easily accessible manner. Amy has done a lot of gymnastics practice, and she’s read more voluntarily in these two days than she has in this whole year. 

On the morning of the third day, the two of them are sitting down after breakfast, Phoenix sketching a plant in their journal and Amy trying desperately to focus on the book in front of her. It’s a storybook, she thinks, but it could be historically accurate for all that she knows. Amilios and another inhabitant of the inn wander into the room, and Amilios claps their hands in excitement.  
“Okay, so I think it’s finally time for you two to get out of the house! Well, metaphorical house, you get what I mean. This is Violet…” They indicate to the person standing next to them - she’s short, with dark hair and dark eyes. She’s wearing a skirt, which spins around her a little as she moves. She waves.  
“Call me Vi.” 

“Vi needs to go out today for some errands. Neither of you two have clothes other than these, I’m assuming, so it seems like a good idea for you three to go out shopping!” Amy looks up at this idea, snapping her book shut. Phoenix also looks up, then seems to shrink back into their chair as far as they can manage. 

“Do we have to pay for them? I can’t say I’ve got a lot of money…” Amy seems to have regained some energy as she opens her bag to search for her purse.  
“There’s certain arrangements made for people who are new here, don’t worry. You won’t have to pay as such, but generally you get some kind of task to do as a payment. It’ll be something like sweeping streets, nothing too bad. “

“Okay, I can work with that!” Amy answers, getting up and leaving the book behind.  
“Do I have to be there? I just need trousers and button downs, it’ll be fine.” Phoenix opens their book again, rubbing something out and penciling in a correction.  
“Ah, well, you also need to be registered as new residents here. Which you need to be present for.” Amilios shrugs. “Sorry, it’s the rules. That’s the boring bit really.”

After a little more persuading, Phoenix, Amy and Violet are stood outside Kaerlighed Inn, ready to leave for the town hall. The inn is set back off the street a little, with a tiny herb garden placed in front of it, but even from here the streets are very obviously busy. Most people are walking, but there’s a few ancient looking bicycles, and a horse drawn carriage trundles past. Amy and Phoenix had seen glimpses of the town from the windows of the inn, but standing in a safe haven very close to the street is showing them just how big and strange the place they’ve ended up in is. The buildings here are small - they might be described as “quaint” by some people on Earth, but a lot of them are crammed into a very small space. The street itself is paved and curves around the buildings in a way which proves it was built as the town was developing. Some of the people passing by wave at Violet, or stop to look at Amy and Phoenix, but otherwise people just bustle past. 

“Why do people have bicycles?” Phoenix asks, staring out into the street with their hands pushed deep into their pockets and their shoulders hunched. 

“They had them when they came through.” Violet shrugs. “I think the gateways show up a lot in nature filled areas so we get a lot of hikers and cyclists.” Phoenix is already scribbling things down before she’s finished her sentence, and she laughs. “Have you two spoken to Eliana yet?”

“Not yet!” Amy says, bouncing on her toes. “Okay, let's get going!”

“Sure, yeah.” Phoenix’s eyes are trained on their notebook, but they close it with an eye roll and the group sets off. 

They decide to go to the town hall first, because as Amy says “Let's get the boring stuff over with”. The pair of them are asked about where they came from, where they fell through and where they’re staying, and then they’re given an allowance for clothes and sent on their way.  
“I still don’t get why they don’t just do forms or something. Going in to talk to someone takes so much longer.” Violet says, scowling. She’d overheard something while they were inside, and while she’d denied being worried when Amy asked, she seems anxious to leave. “Right, I’ll take you to the clothes place. The person who works there is really nice, I’ll drop you off there and come back in...say an hour.”

“What errands did you need to run? I think I’d rather tag along to those.” Phoenix says, ignoring Amy’s glare.  
“Sorry, you’re probably better off sticking together. Safety in numbers and all that, and the two of you don’t know your way around yet.” With that, Violet walks left from the doors, not watching to see if they’re following behind. 

The shop they arrive at is small, hidden on a side street. A bell over the door rings as the three of them enter, and someone who is presumably the owner of the shop steps out of a back room. They’re very much not human, with silvery wings and a shock of neon pink hair. Their ears are pointed, as are their teeth, which flash when they smile in greeting.  
“Aubron! New people, they need clothes. Amy and Phoenix.” Violet says waving to indicate their names as she's already halfway out of the door. “I’ll be back in a bit, have fun!” She leaves, the door slamming shut behind her and the bell releasing another ring. 

"Where was she in such a hurry to get to?" Aubron asks, beginning to rifle through racks of clothing as they squint at Amy and Phoenix. 

"No idea." Phoenix answers, sitting down on an ottoman. 

"So, what're you two looking for? Dresses, skirts, trousers, shirts, I've got basically everything here."

"I just need a spare pair of trousers and some shirts. I've got a jacket and solid shoes already." Phoenix says, grimacing a little.

"I like pinks and purples, shorts, leggings and the occasional skirt. And I should probably get some sturdier shoes?" Amy glances at Phoenix, who rolls their eyes at her. Aubron nods and heads further into the shop, occasionally pulling things from the racks. 

"Come on Phoenix, don't you want to shop a little?" Amy asks, also rooting through the clothes hung up.

"No." 

"It'll be fun, come on!" Amy pulls out a cropped t-shirt which is emblazoned with Live, Love, Laugh in neon pink font. "How's this?"

"Amy." Their voice isn't even a little teasing anymore. "Stop. Please."

"But why don't you want to?" She doesn't seem to pick up on their tone.

"Because clothes shopping makes me horribly dysphoric and only reminds me of what people expect me to wear." Their voice raises in frustration, and Amy shuts up. The room falls silent. 

"Oh." Amy's face is slightly pink and she turns away to avoid meeting Phoenix's eyes. After another excruciating moment of silence, they sigh.

"It's fine, there's no way you could have known. Normally I'd just deal with it but it's been a...trying few days." They sigh again.

"Hey, it was Phoenix, right?" Aubron speaks up, breaking the awkward tension around the two of them. 

"Yes?" 

"Right. So I've been exactly where you are - I'm from here but I know what it's like to feel lost. Telling people if something makes you uncomfortable shouldn't be an issue for them. I was really bad for it at the start, but I felt so much better once I started doing it." They walk back to the counter, depositing a pile of clothes on it. "It's difficult, I know. But Amy here seems like she's accepting, so I think it's worth a shot." They shrug, wings flicking as they do. 

"Yeah. That...that makes sense. Thank you."

"Free of charge." Aubron winks and turns to the pile of clothing. 

As Amy tries on shirts and Phoenix idly flicks through the coat rack they're sat next to, Aubron seems intent to strike up a conversation. 

"So, how long have you two been here?"

"This is the third day."

"Where did you two come from?"

"England."

"Any family?"

"I've got a brother, but he...I haven't seen him in a while." Amy says, and Phoenix declines to answer. 

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's fine." She seems to think for a moment, then starts talking. "His name is Charlie. He's five years older than me, and we've always looked alike. He ran away from home when he turned eighteen and I haven't seen him since." She sounds like she's reciting a script - stating simple facts and nothing that's going to broach a wall she's built through her head. 

"Charlie? About the same height as you, short blonde hair, freckles? Maybe grey or blue eyes?"

"Yes? How...did you…"

"When did you last speak to him?"

"Maybe a year and a half ago? I don't really remember?"

"I think he might have passed through here. I don't forget a face, and I knew something felt familiar about you. He'll have passed through Kaerlighed, ask them about it when you get back."

"Is he still there? When did you see him? Was he okay?" Questions fall out of Amy like a waterfall, and Phoenix quietly opens to a new page in their notebook. 

"Last I heard, he was heading to Duin. It's a coastal town not too far from here - I think he got an apprenticeship of some kind. He seemed fine, a little shaken up but that got better over time. He mentioned missing you." Aubron stops talking, and Amy blinks rapidly a few times. "I last saw him maybe seven months ago." The shop falls into silence as Amy stares into space, until the door swings open again. 

"Aubron? There's been another attack, I just checked. Duin's been hit." Violet declares as she crosses the threshold and Amy drops the hanger she was holding. 


	4. Not Quite As It Seems

Almost an hour later, Amy is curled up on an armchair with her eyes closed, and everyone else is talking in the room next door. She’s not trying to listen to what they’re saying, thoughts swirling through her head like a hurricane of panic. She’d been looking for Charlie for as long as he’d been gone, but now finding out first that he was okay, and then that the place he was last seen had been “attacked” was sending spirals of worry careening through her. He’s one of the only people she trusts anymore, and she hasn’t spoken to him in a year and a half. 

In the next room, the talking stops. As it does, the conviction to find him wraps itself around her, and she knows that she’s going to do whatever she can to get back to him. A quiet knock sounds at the door, and Phoenix walks in.   
“Hey, you feeling okay?” They ask, sitting down on a chair opposite her.   
“I’ve been better. I’ll manage though.” She stands up, plastering a smile over her face which doesn’t even begin to reach her eyes. Phoenix looks at her, eyebrows raised, but doesn’t mention it.   
“They wanted us to come back in so they could explain what was happening. I didn’t follow much, they just argued in the corner.” They shrug.  
“Sure, yeah, that sounds great!” Her voice rings untrue, but she practically dances into the next room, Phoenix trailing behind her. 

Nyssa, Amilios and Violet are gathered around a table, talking quietly to each other. When Amy struts in, they break apart and stop talking.   
“Hey!” Amilios waves, pulling out a chair for Amy. Phoenix hops onto the table next to them, folding their legs up under them.   
“We probably owe you an explanation as to what exactly is happening. Usually we wait a little longer, because this is already quite a lot to deal with, but I suppose there’s no reason not to tell you now.” Nyssa says, hands fidgeting on the table in absence of something to do.   
“So, not everything here is as nice as we’d maybe like it to be.” Amilios snorts at this, and Violet elbows them in the side. “It started a few years ago - whole settlements would go radio silent and when a group of people went in to check if everything was okay, they’d be empty.”  
“Empty?” Phoenix asks, looking up from the notes they’ve been making.   
“People gone, belongings left like we’d expect them. Animals gone too.” Amilios fills in.   
“We don’t know why.” Nyssa responds to Phoenix’s questioning look. “There’s never really signs of struggle, at least not widespread ones. We occasionally find a few of the inhabitants wandering around, but they can never tell us what happened.”  
“What happens to them?” Amy’s smile has slipped slightly, and she’s fiddling with the ends of her hair.   
“They never want to stay in their homes, at least at the start. It takes a while, but they return to something like normalcy.” Amilios shrugs. “It tends to help if people they know are around them.” Phoenix’s eyes flick to Amy, whose expression has settled back into a plastic smile.   
“So what do we do from here?” She asks.   
“Nothing. There’s not much we can do while we don’t know what’s happening in those towns, and putting ourselves in danger when seasoned fighters haven’t been able to do anything isn’t going to help.” Nyssa’s voice is serious, and Amilios’ perpetual grin has dissipated.   
“Seriously, it’s easier and safe to try and help from the sidelines. They’ll send a group of people out to Duin soon to look for survivors, and we’ll help them get better here.” Violet looks at Amy, who frowns.  
“Can we go out to help?” She asks.  
“It’s not safe for you out there. Let some more experienced people go out, and help when they get back.” Nyssa answers, and the conversation dries up after that. 

Amy spends the rest of the day struggling to concentrate on her book. Phoenix tries to talk to her a few times, but she brushes them off with dazzling smiles and an unrelenting positivity which seems almost like she’s performing a character to those around her. A few people come into the inn to talk to Nyssa or get food, but otherwise it’s relatively quiet. Towards the end of the day, a very short girl wearing black dungarees and with her hair pulled up in space buns enters. Her eyes are a bright green and her skin is a deep brown. She gives Violet a piece of paper, and then heads over to where Amy and Phoenix are sitting.   
“Hey, you two must be new here! I’m Hazel, nice to meet you!” Phoenix blinks at her a little, but Amy immediately stands up to greet her.   
“Oh hi! I’m Amy, and this is Phoenix. We came through a few days ago.”   
“How’re you holding up?” Hazel asks, leaning back against a table. “I remember my first few weeks were a lot. I stayed here too actually - first room on the right when you get to the second floor.”   
“Well, I’m managing. It’s a change, but we’ll get there.”   
“Where are you staying now?” Phoenix asks, looking considerably more interested now that they have someone to interview who knows what could happen to them.  
“You probably haven’t seen it yet, but there’s a small cottage out on the edge of town. I’m apprenticed to the lady who lives there, Elora. She sent me over to pick up her dinner.”   
“Apprenticed? Oh, that’s so fun for you!” Phoenix stares at Amy in confusion, and mouths “fun for you?” at her when Hazel’s not looking. She just shakes her head and smiles again.   
“I’m learning to be a witch!” Hazel says brightly, at which Phoenix’s pencil stops moving.  
“A witch?” They ask, incredulous.  
“Probably not exactly in the sense you think, I’m not capturing children or anything. A lot of it is about nature, everything here is so new and interesting! They have plant life here that I’ve never seen before, and some of it behaves in ways I didn’t even know were possible!” Hazel moves her hands a lot when she talks, as her face animates and the loose strands of hair around her face bounce.   
“Oh. I - wasn’t aware that people could do that here.”   
“They do it back on earth too, just not as openly.” She shrugs. “I don’t know if I’ll ever manage to be a fully fledged witch, I don’t really have the knack for it. It satisfies my interests though, so I’m enjoying it.” 

They exchange small talk for a while after that, until Hazel’s food comes out of the kitchen and she has to leave.   
“See you two around!” She says as she leaves. Violet comes out from behind the bar, perching on the arm of a sofa.  
“I see you two met Hazel. She’s nice - fell in just before I did. It was good to have someone to go through that whole thing with.” Her tone seems pointed, but she doesn’t elaborate. Neither of the other two responds, and she sighs.  
“Amy, I know you’re annoyed about not being able to go out to help.”   
“I’m not, it’s fine!” Amy cuts across her.  
“Sure. Look, I just wanted to tell you something.” She pauses for a second. “Everyone here wants to help. We really do - that’s why Nyssa set up this inn, and why Amilios goes around helping people find jobs, or why Eliana is researching the connections between here and earth in every spare moment she can find. Just - we know when something’s outside of our limits. None of us are especially skilled fighters. If we go out we’re going to get hurt or only be in the way.” She shrugs again. “Just something to think about. We’re going to be more helpful if we stick to the things we know.”  
Amy’s smile has slipped again, and a blush is rising high on her cheeks. Violet gives a meaningful smile and stands up, heading back towards the bar. Phoenix raises an eyebrow at Amy, who collects herself and puts her smile back on. Nothing anyone can say is going to convince her not to do this, never mind how dangerous it is.


End file.
